The Denver Post reported Thursday ( http://tinyurl.com/p3ac5j6) that George Brauchler is weighing whether to challenge Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2014.

Brauchler is district attorney in four counties southeast of Denver, including Arapahoe, where Dunlap was convicted in 1996.

Brauchler has sharply criticized Hickenlooper for granting a reprieve to Dunlap, who was sentenced to die for ambushing and killing four people at a Denver-area Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in 1993.

“He’s made himself into Nathan Dunlap’s guardian angel,” Brauchler said after Hickenlooper announced the reprieve on May 22. “He’s said, ‘As long as you keep me in office, Nathan Dunlap never has to face death.'”

The victims in the slayings were Sylvia Crowell, 19; Ben Grant and Colleen O’Connor, both 17; and Margaret Kohlberg, 50. All were shot in the head. Bobby Stephens, then 20, was also shot, but he survived.

The reprieve is officially temporary, but Hickenlooper has said he is unlikely to revoke it as long as he is governor, which could be until early 2019 if he wins re-election.

Brauchler said he was approached by influential Republicans about running, “and I have been seriously considering it.”

He was elected last year and took office in January, so he has been DA less than six months. Brauchler said his brief tenure will be one factor in his decision.

Former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo has said he is running for governor. GOP Secretary of State Scott Gessler has said he is considering it.

Brauchler is also overseeing the death penalty case against James Holmes, charged with murder and attempted murder in the July shootings at a suburban Denver theater. Twelve people were killed and 70 injured.

Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His trial is scheduled to start in February.